Rick Ashabranner	Glen Druery	Tim Woudenberg	Karta Atehortua*

The Racers		Team & Crew

* Team MVP

My article with the highest number of all-time hits~currently 821 [after just 2 weeks]. The photographs are from the RAAM 2009 website–thanks for the downloads.

Team MVP selection by Sandy Earl:

The ABSOLUTELY hardest part of my responsibility was to declare an MVP for the race (something that Randy, our main sponsor, wished me to do). Tim, our team captain, did yeoman work building the team, getting things organized and together, and then backed it up by riding incredibly strongly. However, he declared himself ineligible for MVP honors.
Beyond that, there simply wasn’t a clear choice.

Glenn was a definite asset – rode a very smart race, took care of business, and rode like crazy. If it weren’t for his 5 pound bag of gummy bears that infested the Frogger van, he might’ve gotten the call.

Rick – what a rock! Always happy to ride, never a complaint or a bad word. Waved to every motorist who passed him, even if it was a close pass with horns blaring. Used all his fingers, too. And he figured out the battery disconnect issue with the RV. Probably the strongest/fastest rider of the group, even being new to recumbents. Keep an eye on this guy!

In the end, I chose Karta. He worked through some serious physical issues to stay on the bike. Over the last, crucial day, his intensity kept me the most focused. He NEVER treated this as something other than a race, NEVER accepted that good enough was good enough, and raced his heart out. He was also the impetus behind the team shaving their heads in Oceanside, despite having the most to lose in that department. That seemingly insignificant bit of team-building reverberated through the whole week of racing.